Friday, 27 February 2015

White Night was an instant success in Melbourne. In its first year, 2013, it attracted over 300,000 participants to art exhibits spread across the city centre from 7pm to 7am.

I missed its second staging in 2014 because I was in Hawaii. That time it attracted over 500,000 people, and it was a a very crowded experience from all accounts.

This year the event, held from 7pm to 7am on 21-22 February, was different. Still a huge attendance, pushing half a million, but spread out over a much wider area and with people attending later if they could. The buzz was noticeably lower, but it was easier to get around.

Narrelle Harris and I set out about 7pm this year, crossing the Yarra River to attend a ghost tour through the Arts Centre. Whether you believed the ghost stories or not, it was great to see the backstage areas and stand on the vast stage of the State Theatre:

The ghostly theme continued next door at Hamer Hall where we witnessed Ghostly Machines, a human-free sound and light piece performed by the concert hall's lighting and sound array:

Next we headed to NGV International. The big highlight here was Keyframes, a collection of neon tube figures in the moat which lit on and off in time with music. Here's a short clip I filmed:

Inside the gallery there were two pieces.The one in the Great Hall was a science experiment which produced projections and sound, and in the adjoining garden was this colourful laser light show:

Across St Kilda Road, beneath the equestrian statue of King Edward VII, we found this illuminated set of angel wings in front of which people posed. I suspect this kid had in mind the sinister Weeping Angels of Doctor Who:

From the riverbank we could hear Bollywood music floating across the water from this floating barge, near glowing flowers on the water:

By the time we'd bought some supper from a food truck in Alexandra Gardens, it was nearing midnight. Time to cross the river, brave the Federation Square crowds and see what the north of the White Night zone had to offer...

Next: Wonderland! And light in motion across a World Heritage building...

Friday, 6 February 2015

I was writing a chocolate-related travel article for a major publication, in this case related to London. As I typed, a reference to cacao reminded me that I'd seen a cacao pod in person in Borneo, when I'd visited Malaysia in 2009:

This got me thinking about other times that chocolate had featured in my travels.

In 2010, when Narrelle Harris and I were travelling through Hungary, we dropped into the classic Budapest cafe Gerbeaud. My order was a csokoládé kávé, coffee blended with hot chocolate, amaretto and whipped cream. Alongside it was a perfectly formed slice of Sachertorte:

In May last year I was introduced to great Middle Eastern chocolate, not something I'd been expecting after the terrible chocolate we used to endure when living in Egypt in the 1990s. These locally handmade beauties were on sale at the shopfront of Salma's, a chocolatier in Muscat, Oman:

Closer to home, in 2007 I visited Adelaide and went on a tour of Haigh's chocolate factory. This South Australian brand has several outlets in Melbourne, and it's hard to resist its dark chocolate peppermint frogs. This was the factory shop:

In 2012 I travelled to Quebec City, Canada for the first time and was delighted to discover the Érico chocolate shop and museum, whose exhibits including chocolate clothing:

On the other side of Canada in 2013, Narrelle and I visited an excellent chocolate maker and cafe in Gastown, called East Van Roasters:

And while travelling on the South Island of New Zealand in 2011, I stopped with some colleagues for lunch at She Chocolat, a chocolate-making business with a restaurant overlooking beautiful Governors Bay:

So what's the chocolate-related story I'm writing at the moment? Can't tell you... yet. Follow me on social media (see the links in the right-hand column) to find out when it's published.

I will reveal it has a historic context... and this is how it ends up:

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About this blog

Freelance travel writer Tim Richards travels the world - to write about it. Discover his current whereabouts as he covers travel, destinations, and the little quirks hidden in overlooked corners.(Updated weekly)

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About Me

I'm a freelance writer with published articles on various topics, including travel, lifestyle, the arts, science, and pets. My writing has appeared in newspapers, magazines and websites around the world. I'm also an author of guidebooks for Lonely Planet. You can see details of my published work at http://www.iwriter.com.au/